Death's Embrace
by Crazed Dice Of Doom
Summary: Ashe's memories of Rasler are becoming more and more vivid each day, driving her closer to insanity. Her friends attempt to help out. AsheRasler. Shaman's Right's debut fic.


Disclaimer: I do not own the contents of Final Fantasy XII, they all belong to Square Enix. Those lucky bastards...

Note: This takes place one year after the game ends.

Prolouge  
_Tall and bold, he stood in front of thousands of enemies, his own army vastly out-numbered. _

The cold, harsh air of the night engulfed her body, and she curled up defensively.

_A determined look on his face, he didn't falter as cries erupted from the opposing side, and the men rushing to kill to dear prince of their enemies._

She tossed and turned, failing to find peace, even in her sleep.

_He slowly raised his sword up, and, as his enemies did, he charged, with a battle cry, his armor seems to shine under the moonlight. His soldiers followed him faithfully._

Sweating like mad, even though the temperature was at least below freezing.

_He struck down his enemies. One by one, they died before him. For a second, it seemed that he had a chance at victory._

Blanket laid on the carpet floor, appearing as though it was haphazardly thrown. The white satin bed would be bare, had there not been a flailing woman struggling with her own nightmares.

_Then, as quick as it apppeared, the hope vanished, as an arrow quickly embedded itself into the chest of the bold warrior. _

She gasped, and the noise seemed to echo in the silent room.

_He fell back, and as he did, time itself seemed to slow down, as if it, too, was reluctant to let such a great warrior fall. His soldiers slowly turned to look, as if under the spell of a powerful slowga. With his final breath, he mutter a single word, inaudible to all around him._

_Ashe..._

_Ashe..._

_Ashe..._

"Ashe!"

"Rasler!"

The queen bolted upright on her bed. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead, yet her whole body was numb with the cold. She took slow breathes, trying to calm her nerves and her heart, which was beating madly against her chest. The dream, it had been so real...so vivid...Ashe was almost positive that she was watching the scene from the sidelines. She felt her heart starting to ache, as tears began to form in her eyes, for the same reason that she wept with grief three years ago. How many times have she been crying for his death, she lost count, but as hot tears streamed down her cheeks, she failed to notice the person who woke her up in the first place.

"Ashe?"

She immediately recognized the motherly voice that could only belong to Penelo. She had almost forgotten that she had invited Vaan and Penelo to stay in the castle to let them take a break from working at Migelo's shop. Her hands immediately went up to her face, trying to protect her dignity. Ashe didn't dare to speak; she felt that her voice would betray her. She felt the matress sink beside her as weight settled on it, and then Penelo's warm hand on her cold shoulder, gently giving her a reassuring squeeze.

"It's okay. We're good friends. You don't have to hide your emotions from me. Just...let it out."

That was it for Ashe as her emotional shield broke down. She flung herself to Penelo, who pulled her in for a hug, as she cried. Crying for her love, crying for the dead. Thoughts of her beloved rushed through her mind once again, as rivers after rivers poured out of her eyes. Penelo gently patted her back and spoke calm and kind words. When Ashe's hysteria receded to a choked sob, Penelo spoke again, rather slowly,

"It's about Lord Rasler, isn't it?"

Ashe could only nod. Penelo released her from the embrace. She took the pillows and set them up against the backboard for a nice cushion, then she gently set Ashe to lean against the pillow. Penelo herself sat crossed legged on the other side of the bed.

"Talk to me about it. It feels much better when you vent out your emotions to another person."

"But..."

"No buts! Besides, I can't sleep anyway, Vaan's horrendously loud snoring has kept me awake. I could hear him next door for god's sake!"

Ashe lifted her head up to look at her blond haired friend. Penelo's eyes were full of compassion, of patience. Ashe could tell that she cared, and she gave her a weak smile for Penelo's attempt to lighten up the mood. Penelo smiled back, and urged Ashe to start. Ashe began sharing about her nightmares.

She was on the verge of breaking down again when she finished. She mentally cursed herself.

_Why are you so WEAK, Ashe? You cry EVERY night for the same damn dream, and now, you're going to cry again??_

She struggled to keep her tears in, but no matter how hard she tried, beads began to roll down her cheeks, and she found herself once more in Penelo's embrace.

"Shhhh, it's okay. Let it out."

Penelo herself didn't cry. She felt that if she, too, broke down with Ashe, that neither of them would stop crying. Ashe needed to go to sleep. Her duties are long and tedious tomorrow, and she needs energy if she were to hold out. Penelo understood what Ashe felt. She understands what it's like to lose someone so close. The thoughts of her parents raced through her mind.

After Penelo was satisfied that Ashe was calm enough, she set her to sleep. As she draped the blanket over Ashe's shoulder, she whispered,

"It's better to let out all your thoughts and troubles than to bottle them up, like you have...for three years."

And she bid Ashe good night and left the room.

Ashe slowly drifted off to sleep.

She regretted ever asking Basch about how her husband died.

End of Prolouge  
My god! My prolouges are always horrible. I know, this chapter doesn't really capture that angst that I'm trying to get, but I promise, it will get better. Maybe I should've made this a one-shot...

Anyway, please read and review! Advice on making it better? More angsty? Suggestions? What would you like to see? Put all those things down in a review, and I'll be happy to read them and take them into consideration. The only thing not appreciated is flames. They're kinda...pointless.

_Shaman's Right_


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